Bahrain and Qatar on Sunday called on their citizens to leave unrest-swept Syria after the United Arab Emirates also advised its citizens to stay away.

The call, issued on the day the Arab League was deciding on sanctions against Damascus over its deadly crackdown on dissent, was issued because of instability in Syria, said Bahrain's foreign ministry.

The United Arab Emirates has called on its citizens in Syria to exercise caution and avoid the areas that witness frequent anti-regime protests.

Isa Abdullah al-Kalbani, director of Citizens' Affairs at the UAE Foreign Ministry, called on citizens to leave Syria and reconsider travel to the country, reported the Emirates News Agency WAM on Friday.

Lebanon’s midfielder Rida Antar who inspired the country’s historic victory against South Korea during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was chosen as Goal.com’s player of the week.

The website recognized the player for his role in the victory, a first by Lebanon against the Asian nation.

The United Arab Emirates and France share a "strategic relationship,” the Gulf state's foreign minister said at a meeting with his French counterpart, the state news agency WAM reported on Sunday.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe at the annual Sir Bani Yas forum, an informal gathering on regional peace and security attended by top local and international officials.

Protesters pelted the Moroccan embassy in Damascus with eggs and stones on Wednesday, Morocco's ambassador said as his country hosted an Arab League meeting aimed at ending bloody unrest in Syria, amid another attack on the UAE embassy in Damascus.

Morocco's ambassador, Mohammed Khassasi, told Agence France Presse that more than 100 demonstrators had attacked the building and stripped it of its flag.

The United Arab Emirates, which was said to be in final talks with France to buy 60 Rafale fighter jets, said Wednesday the French offer was unworkable and uncompetitive, WAM state news agency reported.

"Unfortunately, Dassault does not seem to realize that political will and all diplomatic efforts could not overcome uncompetitive and unworkable commercial terms," WAM quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the deputy head of the armed forces, as saying.

Five activists facing trial in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly insulting top officials began a hunger strike on Sunday to pressure authorities to release them, the wife of one of them said.

"They began a hunger strike to get their voices through to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and not to challenge authorities," said Wedad al-Muhairi, the wife of one of the detainees, Nasser bin Gaith.

All eyes will be on the Gulf's booming airlines and how deeply they dig into their wallets when the Middle East's main airshow opens in Dubai next week, though few are expecting a flood of blockbuster deals.

That's because the region's heavyweights — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways — already boast long lists of planes on order designed to fatten their young fleets for years to come.

Human rights groups on Thursday criticized the United Arab Emirates' trial of five activists accused of insulting top officials as "grossly unfair."

The trial of the five accused of "publicly insulting" the officials "has been grossly unfair, and the case against them has no basis in international law as it violates their freedom of expression," said a statement by a coalition of international human rights organizations.

The United Arab Emirates has awarded an Italian-led consortium a $900 million contract to build the first stage of the Gulf nation's railway network.

State-run railway company Etihad Rail says Italy's Saipem and Tecnimont will join Dubai-based Dodsal Engineering and Construction in building the first part of the network.